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Guide · Storage

Phone storage full? How to clean up your photos

When storage runs out, a large share of it often sits in the gallery: videos, bursts, duplicate pictures and screenshots. In this order you get the most space back for the least effort.

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  1. 1. Check what takes up space

    On iPhone under Settings > General > iPhone Storage, on Android under Settings > Storage (the name varies by manufacturer). There you can see how much goes to photos and videos and whether cleaning up the gallery is worth it.

  2. 2. Large videos first

    On an iPhone using the High Efficiency format, one minute of 4K video takes about 135 to 400 MB, depending on the frame rate. Sort your videos by size and check the largest first. A few old clips often free more space than hundreds of photos.

  3. 3. Bursts and near-identical shots

    From a burst or five attempts at the same subject you usually need one picture. Keep the sharpest and delete the rest.

  4. 4. Duplicates and screenshots

    Pictures from chats often end up in the gallery more than once, and screenshots pile up over months. Both can usually go without much thought.

  5. 5. Empty the bin

    Deleted photos first go to “Recently Deleted” (iPhone) or the gallery app’s bin (Android) and still take up space there. The space is only free once you empty it or the period runs out.

Move photos to the cloud

If you use iCloud Photos, you can turn on “Optimise iPhone Storage” in the Photos settings. The device then keeps smaller versions while the originals stay in iCloud. On Android, Google Photos offers “Free up space” for pictures that are already backed up. Both need enough cloud storage, which costs money beyond a certain amount.

Questions

How much free space should I leave?
Leave a few gigabytes free. System updates and new recordings need room, and some apps slow down noticeably when storage is almost full.
Why is my gallery full of pictures from chats?
Many messengers save received photos and videos to the gallery automatically. You can usually turn that off in the messenger’s settings.
Are my photos uploaded?
No. All analysis happens on your device. Nothing is uploaded and no server ever sees your photos.
Are photos deleted permanently right away?
No. Deleted photos go to “Recently Deleted” (iPhone) or the bin (Android) and are recoverable for 30 days. You confirm every deletion.

Clean up your photos with CleanPix

CleanPix finds duplicates, blurry and dark photos, screenshots and space hogs — analysed entirely on your device. No photo upload, no sign-up. Large videos and blurry or dark photos are part of Premium. For iOS and Android. No ads.

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Updated 2 November 2026.